Cattle and Amblyomma variegatum Odors Used in Host Habitat and Host Finding by the Tick Parasitoid, Ixodiphagus hookeri

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The response of mated naive Ixodiphagus hookeri females to cattle and Amblyomma variegatum nymphal odors was tested in a Y-tube olfactometer. I. hookeri females were attracted to cattle urine, dung, and odors from tick-free feeding sites of A. variegatum nymphs on cattle, e.g., dewlaps, front heels, and hind heels. Tick-free scrotal odors did not attract the parasitoids. Furthermore, odors from off-host unfed and fed A. variegatum nymphs did not attract the parasitoids, despite an increase in the number of the nymphs to amplify any odor signal. A blend of odors from feeding on-host nymphs and cattle scrota attracted the parasitoids. In T-tube bioassays, I. hookeri females were attracted to hexane washes and fecal extracts of A. variegatum nymphs.